Including people who have “permanent makeup,” it is estimated that about 10% of the U.S. population has at least one tattoo. Despite the increasing popularity of tattoos, their removal can be equally desired (e.g., due to a poor design or artwork, change of partners, career concerns, or social stigma). Anecdotally, over one-half of the people who have a tattoo have considered having it removed.
Laser treatments are the currently most accepted method of removing a tattoo. While generally better than other methods (e.g., excision or dermal abrasion of the tattoo), tattoo removal by laser treatment remains problematic. Besides being relatively expensive, exposure to high-intensity laser light degrades a tattoo's pigments into smaller chemical components, which compounds are to be cleared by the body. These compounds are left to be metabolized and excreted by the body with unknown consequences.
Laser light treatment can also generate significant heat that makes the treatment painful and may cause its own scarring. In addition, laser light works best with only a limited range of colors (e.g., black, blue, and red pigments). Many other colors in widespread use respond poorly to the treatment. Besides only removing a small range of colors, such treatment requires an average of 10 separate sessions for optimal outcomes, and leaves behind a visible result (e.g., a scar or residual colors).
Instruments for the intradermal injection of fluids are known. (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 2,840,076 to Robbins, Jun. 24, 1958, the contents of the entirety of which are incorporated herein by this reference). Robbins describes a surgical instrument for subcutaneous injection of liquefied pigments, medicinal, or cosmetic materials that includes means for controlling the depth of application of such liquefied materials, wherein the depth of the application can be rapidly varied.
Devices for removing a tattoo are also known. (See, e.g., U.S. Pub. No. 2008/020835 A1 to Ulmer et al., Aug. 28, 2008, the contents of the entirety of which are incorporated herein by this reference).